Theology And The Disciplines Of The Foreign Service [Hardcover]

In the course of Theodore Lewis' career in the US Foreign Service--spanning twenty-nine years and including tours of duty in Vietnam, Pakistan, the DRCongo, and Korea--he came upon many significant links with theology. This book tells the story of his discovery of these links and their importance. It is also a story of God bringing good out of human tragedy. Lewis ends by drawing together the implications of these links for natural theology, which deals with how theology ought to relate to the world--and thus is of prime importance for both theology and the world. The salient implication of these links is that the Holy Spirit operating as at Pentecost can bring together the secular with the theological, the academic with the human. And by validating this possibility, the book breaks decisive new ground. In particular, it makes clear the vital contribution that Foreign Service and other craft disciplines can and should make to the restoration of the church and to the advent of a new Pentecost. A fascinating account of a remarkable theological voyage of discovery, bearing a powerful witness to both the intellectual delight of theology as a discipline, and to the perspicuity and perseverance of its author. --Alister E. McGrath, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK At the height of the Vietnam War exceptional demands were placed on the joint embassy/USAID economic staff to control what could easily have become runaway inflation leading to general destabilization. Not only did the staff have to work seven days a week and long hours each day but their skill and competence were tested to the utmost under difficult conditions. I worked closely with Ted Lewis and recall vividly his top-notch skills and service to his country. He describes these years well. Moreover, his description of the 'craft' of the Foreign Service is accurate and perceptive. --Roy Wehrle, Economic Counselor of Embassy and USAID Associate Director forlC'